Slurry hydrocracking (SHC) is used for the upgrading of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce distillate products. In SHC, these feedstocks are converted in the presence of hydrogen and solid catalyst particles (e.g., as a particulate metallic compound such as a metal sulfide) in a slurry phase. Representative slurry hydrocracking processes are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,955 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,977.
The distillate products produced using SHC include naphtha, jet fuel, diesel, and vacuum gas oil (VGO) range materials that are high in contaminants such as sulfur, nitrogen, olefins, and aromatics. In order to meet product specifications such as for example, low sulfur, low nitrogen, and cetane, the distillate products need further upgrading by hydrotreating. The hydrotreater is typically a stand-alone distillate hydrotreater to upgrade liquid products. This requires additional capital to construct the hydrotreater, requiring additional compressors, vessels, heat exchangers and the like.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved process for upgrading heavy hydrocarbon feeds.